Black Diamonds (15 page)

Xavier could still taste Jacaranda on his lips as she slid down his body. Ever since he’d first held her he’d wanted to put his lips to her core, where he knew her taste, her scent, would be strongest. Her aroma, what he couldn’t help thinking of in
vigneron
terms as her bouquet, enticed him: the wild floral smell he still couldn’t identify, the saltiness like the ocean at her secret beach, the sweetness like a dessert wine. What was that odd Australian term she’d called dessert wines? Ah yes, he recalled with a groan as she trailed her lips further downwards.
A sticky
.

Tangling her long hair in his fingers as she traced a line below his belly, he suppressed another groan. So much for his Frenchman’s reputation if she kept using her flicking tongue like that: the myth would explode.

As if sensing his urgency her fingers guided him into her cool mouth. The sound she made, the same sexy hiss of air as when she’d savoured the white truffle, told him she liked what she tasted. His own harsh exhalation as she took him deeper must have sent her the same message.

With knowing rhythm that seemed to come from deep inside, the friction built between them.

“Jacaranda …” He stretched her long silky hair around his fingers as under her darting tongue he grew harder, ready to release.

He was deep inside her mouth when he couldn’t take any more. She surprised him with a hunger for what he gave her, after her initial reluctance to have him taste her. But he wasn’t surprised to find her so generous; that was something he’d sensed all along.

Her lips looked fuller, a darker pink when she came back up to lie beside him, her hair fanning out like tongues of flame against the pillow. Her hair below was darker, without the red glints in it; they must come from the sun. She didn’t sunbathe naked then; he’d have to teach her that French custom too.

Reaching for her, he took her in his arms, stroking her hair as she tucked her head onto his chest, her palm against his skin. “So?” He queried, after a few minutes. “Did I pass?”

“Your taste test?” She flashed her wide grin, the one he liked the most, and answered, “Oh yes.”

“
Non
. That’s not enough.”

Confusion clouded her expression.

“I don’t like to merely
pass
. I like to
win
.” Jerking his head at the tray on the table beside him, Xavier demanded, “Now,
cherie
. Be honest. Which tasted better?”

There must have been a glint in his eye giving him away. A giggle escaped Jacaranda’s lips. “It’s hard to say …”

He seized her by the wrist.

“I mean, white truffles … they’re special …”

He tightened his grip.

She twisted under him, relented. “You tasted better.”

“Ah.” Loosening his hold he took his finger up to her breast, circling it’s pinkish brown tip, watching it harden. “But I’m not entirely satisfied.”

“No?”

“
Non
.” He trailed his hand across to the other breast. There were pale white triangles where her purple bikini top had been. His arousal flared as he recalled watching her emerge from the ocean spray. “You see, there’s the matter of timing. I’m not quite sure … who came first.”

Her nipple stiffened under his touch. “That’s important?”

“In France we like to be precise about these things.” He pressed down with his thumb and forefinger.

Jacaranda closed her eyes. “Oh.”

“Perhaps later we might check on it, if you’re agreeable.” He lowered his mouth and flicked his tongue.

She opened one eye. “How would we do that?”

Lifting his head momentarily, Xavier replied, “The best way, I believe, is simultaneously.” He caught the tip of her breast between his teeth.

Jacaranda gasped. “You know I can’t resist a challenge. You’re on.”

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“Jacaranda.”

Jackie opened one eye. Could she smell coffee or was she dreaming? Opening her other eye she saw the silver dome and brandy glasses on the bedside table had disappeared. Instead, on the marble top was a tray laden with golden croissants, ruby coloured preserves, and a large sized cup with soft wisps of steam coming out of it. Pulling the sheet over her upper body, she raised her head from the soft pillows and sat up.

Xavier smiled, and held the cup towards her. “
Cafe au lait
.”

With a murmur of thanks, she took it and surveyed him over the rim. He appeared even more handsome this morning, with slight stubble around his chin, a black polo neck emphasising its strong line. Tendrils of hair curled over the top of the sweater towards the back of his neck. I wonder what he tastes like there, the wild thought popped into her head.

His eyes were a dark glitter as he watched her sip the milky coffee. “I hope you slept well,” he asked, with his trick of making the question sound extraordinarily intimate.

Of course I slept well. I was in your arms
. “Yes,” she replied huskily.

“Good.” In a restless gesture he pushed his hands through his hair. “I didn’t want to leave without seeing you this morning, but I have to go out. I’ll be back by lunchtime I hope.”

“You’re not coming on the truffle hunt?” Jackie asked in surprise. She’d been looking forward to the Monday morning hunting party in the Antoine Estate woods, along with the other guests, Eve and Bob Armitage especially. It was the final event on the truffle weekend itinerary.

“Not this time, I regret to say. I have other urgent matters I must attend to.”

Disappointment must have shown on her face as she carefully placed the coffee cup back on the tray beside them. Wandering through the woods searching for truffles with Xavier had seemed infinitely appealing.

“There’ll be other opportunities. I’ll take you on a private truffle hunt in the woods later this week. Just the two of us.” Leaning down, he nuzzled her neck. “You’re going to stay longer in France, aren’t you?
Oui
?”

“Yes. I mean
oui
. I mean yes. I’d like to.” That was an understatement, with Xavier’s lips teasing the sensitive hollow just below her ear.

“
Tres bien
. Then we have plenty of time,” he murmured against her skin. “You’ve never hunted for truffles, have you?”

“We hunt for truffles on our farm in Australia,” she objected weakly, as his teeth sharpened.

“It’s not the same. Don’t you want to hunt for them with me, in the wild? To see what we discover by chance? I’ll take you to my secret places, in the deepest, darkest part of the woods. Will you come?”

Her stomach flipped as his mouth moved further down her neck. “Just us?”

“
Certainement
.” With a throaty chuckle he pulled away. “Just you and me and Royale, of course. I don’t expect we’ll run into a truffle pig, and I don’t fancy digging them up myself. Royale is the best truffle hound in the business.”

“Rudy would give Royale a run for his money,” Jackie said loyally.

As he laughed a wicked glint came into his eye. “Ah, Jacaranda. So competitive. I like that about you.”

Flushing, she remembered their race the night before. How had she been so bold?

“We’ll have to rely on Royale while we are here in France,” he went on, “But one day … perhaps we could take our dogs out together.”

He’s thinking of the future
. The realisation made her feel absurdly happy. She could only nod.

“If we’re lucky, we will eat whatever is found in the woods for our dinner tonight.” Xavier’s long fingers broke open a croissant to reveal its soft flaky interior. “And perhaps we can finish your white truffle too. We have a lot of tasting to do.”

Glad she was still in bed, Jackie’s legs turned to jelly, not unlike the consistency of the jam Xavier began to spread on the croissant. Tasting truffles, tasting anything with Xavier could easily become addictive.

As he laid down the knife, his gaze lingered over the outline of her half prone body beneath the sheet. “I’d spend all day with you, if I could. But what I have to do this morning can’t wait.”

“You’re not just making excuses?” she teased.

“Does this feel like an excuse?” In a sleek gesture he raised her hand to his lips. Turning the palm inwards, he tantalised her skin with the tip of his tongue. Her body instantly recalled where his tongue had been before, what he’d done to her. She almost groaned aloud as his lips moved from her hand to her lips and came down hard, his stubble rough against her chin. Opening her mouth she could taste coffee on his tongue, as he must be able to on hers.
Taste
, he’d told her the night before.
We’ll start with taste, and work our way through the other senses …

When he finally took his mouth away, she fell breathless against the pillows.

He leant over and breathed close to her ear. “Until this afternoon then?”

In reply she could only manage another nod.

He passed her the plate. “
Bon appétit
. Enjoy your breakfast.”

Jackie bit into the buttery croissant as she watched him walk out the door. He even looked good from behind.

Pushing the plate away, in an irresistibly sensuous stretch she raised her arms above her head, her fingers finding the wood of the bed head. Remembered passion continued to pulse through her. She still felt overwhelmed by what she’d discovered about Xavier the night before, and what she’d discovered about herself. She’d never received such pleasure, or wanted to give it. She’d never been so relaxed, so strangely confident in herself.

They hadn’t been able to agree on who’d won the race. “We have plenty of time for another heat,
cherie
,” Xavier had whispered, as he’d curled her close against his naked body. “I told you. There’s no rush.”

Take it slow, Jackie
, she warned herself now, as her body continued to tingle.
Listen to Xavier. Don’t rush
. But as she glanced at the bedside clock, she realised she was calculating the hours until she would see him again. Her grin turned to peals of laughter. So much for taking it slow. Her heart, it seemed, wasn’t prepared to take it slowly at all.

Excited barks filled the frosty air as the hunting party followed the truffle dogs deep into the woods. Brown and green leaf mould soft under her boots, Jackie marvelled at the tall oak trees with their bare, grey branches, some spider webbed with snow. Yet again she realised how deep Xavier’s roots were in the truffle business. The oak trees on the Antoine Estate grounds had been there for generations. Her hazel trees in Australia were infants in comparison.

Dressed warmly in her Drizabone coat and a jaunty striped purple and brown cap with matching mittens that Mia had knitted for her one winter, she’d set out with the group, many of whom she’d met on her first night at the chateau and again at the lunch in Richerenches. Most of them spoke excited, rapid French.

“We’re digging for buried treasure.” A French woman commented. “
Bon chance
!”

It was a bit like treasure seeking, Jackie reflected. It was all a matter of luck. They might find huge numbers of truffles in the woods that morning, or none at all. That was the fun of it, though of course, it was also serious business with truffles being worth so much money. It was bad truffle etiquette to enquire too closely about where someone had dug up a truffle in the wild, with only a window of a few weeks during which truffles were at their best. No one wanted huge crowds to poach their secret hoard. Xavier’s woods were fenced for precisely that reason, Bob Armitage pointed out.

“I guess they’re not to keep the kangaroos out here, like your fences in Australia.”

“I guess not,” Jackie grinned. She and Xavier had different kinds of wildlife to deal with on their respective trufferies. “But you never know how far an Australian will go.”

Ahead, the Antoine Estate trainers had kept the dogs on leads, so they didn’t race off after the first stray rabbit. Rudy had a habit of doing that too.

One of the truffle dogs appeared to be missing. “Where’s Royale?”

“He only comes out on hunts when the master of the chateau is here.” Bob moved briskly through the fallen leaves. “It’s most unusual for Xavier not to be present for the hunting party this morning. I can’t imagine what’s taken him away instead of coming out with us. It’s one of the highlights of the truffle weekend.”

Where had Xavier gone? He’d been so mysterious that morning when he’d woken her in his bed. Her body tingled with pleasure at the recollection.

Eve pulled her out of earshot of the rest of the group. “Is Xavier’s absence anything to do with you, Jackie?”

Jackie felt like giggling. Her new friend brought out the schoolgirl in her. “No truly, Eve. I don’t know where he’s gone.”

“Mmhmm. I smell romance, not just truffles.” Eve gave a saucy lift of her eyebrow as she tugged the collar of her quilted jacket more closely around her neck. “I may not be a trained truffle hound, but I sure do know when love is in the air.”

Love.
Could it be? The whole trip to France had been like a dream, but love … was that what this longing was, this deep desire to be with Xavier, even though they’d only been apart for a couple of hours? Even the chilly winter air hadn’t removed the sensation that his hot hands and lips still caressed her skin. It was as though he’d taken her to the edge of desire. Instead of having come back from it, she was still standing there, at the cliff edge with an ocean beneath it, waiting for the ecstatic release that would only come from diving down into the sea below. To think that this man, who had infuriated her so much when she first met him in Margaret River, was now the source of this reaction!
Everything they say about French men is true
, she thought with an inward smile.

“So you’re enjoying the roller coaster ride?” Eve continued in a whisper.